Beer, bars, and pool room tokens.
DNADave
Posts: 7,281 ✭✭✭✭✭
These seem to keep popping up in collections that I purchase. I like this Yingling token and only see a little info on it in the online tokencatalog. I’m wondering how old it is.
The Billiods is a rare CWT.
Chances are there was a bar near you that used these good for tokens.
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Comments
The CWT is neat!
Love this kind of stuff. Can't you just imagine sliding one if these across the bar for a cold one? Completely utilitarian purpose that now has a little collector value, even in worn grades. In fact, the more worn they come, the more charm appeal they have.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Back in the day it would have been a nice gift to dad instead of those ashtrays and pipe cleaners. Lol
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
I know of a little bar in Nicholson, PA that still uses drink tokens, although they are plastic.
They come in handy when buying rounds. The recipient can wait until they need another drink, or keep it for another night.
I like these for the old town history aspect. I have one from my home town and I'm always keeping an eye open for more.
Beer award. Panpac 😉
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
They used plastic ones in lieu of the door cover charge around here in the late 1960s-70s.
Here's a die for a bar token (image reversed for ease of reading) that I bought on the BST last year.
I am still on the lookout for a token struck from it that is in decent shape.
There is still a restaurant/bar in Olympia that is descended from the original Spar, but I think this token is from an earlier tme when it was a more of a drinking establishment.
Almost all trade tokens now used in bars and taverns are made of plastic (with a few using wood). They are still most heavily used in the Upper Midwest, namely Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa & MInnesota as well as Pennsylvania & New York state in the East.. There are two distinct types of plastic tokens: the "Classic" style circa 1960 - 1985 or so which are nickel size (21mm or so), round or octagon, opaque, various colors and mostly from one manufacturer. The many Pennsylvania and New York tokens (every PA volunteer fire department had a bar or so it seems) are the same as the thousands of Wisconsin plastics where they were most heavily used.
All the later plastic tokens to present are mostly larger, thinner, translucent, a wider variety of shapes and a myriad of colors. There are many different manufacturers and the cost is inexpensive. Many of the manufacturers would sell overruns to collectors by the 100's by state or business type in other color combinations. Numerous fictitious tokens were also "struck" (actually hot stamped) as samples or customer proofs. Plastics are everywhere if you look and have eliminated probably 98% or more of metal tokens in use. I am not a fan of this use of plastic either.
Nice tokens.... Sad part is, I remember when bars still had nickel beer draughts.... Cheers, RickO
My original research findings: Pantheon Saloon Token, Honolulu Hawaii. Estimated use 1883 -1900.